1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC card (which is also called a smart card) incorporating an integrated circuit such as a memory or a microprocessor (CPU). Further, the present invention relates to an booking-account system of a dealing content in the case of using the IC card as an ATM (automated teller machine) card (which is also called a cash card).
2. Description of the Related Art
Several ten bytes of data only can be memorized in a magnetic card that can memorize data magnetically. However, an IC card incorporating a semiconductor memory, normally, can memorize about 5 KB of data or more. The IC card can assure much more capacity than a magnetic card. Further, the IC card has merits as follows: the IC card does not have a risk that data is read out by a physical means such as putting iron sand on a card, different from a magnetic card, and that data memorized in the IC card is not easily falsified.
In recent years, an IC card has a highly sophisticated function by being provided with a CPU as well as a memory. The application thereof is wide-ranging, for example, an IC card is applied to an ATM card, a credit cart, a prepaid card, a patient's registration card, an identity card such as a student card or an employee ID card, a season ticket, a membership card, etc. As an example of the highly sophisticated function, an IC card for which a display device that can display simple characters and numbers is provided and for which a keyboard to input numbers is provided is described in the reference 1 (Reference 1: Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. H02-7105).
As described in the Reference 1, a new use becomes possible by adding a new function to an ID card. Nowadays, electronic commerce, teleworking, remote medical care, remote education, computerized administrative services, automatic toll revenue from an expressway, image distribution service and the like using an IC card are to be put to a practical use and it is considered that an IC card will be used in a wider field in the future.
As an IC card is used more widely, a misapplication of an IC card becomes a bigger problem measurably. A future issue is how securely identification is performed when an IC card is used.
Printing a picture of a face in an IC card is one of measures for preventing a misapplication of an IC card. It is possible, by printing a picture of a face, that a third person can identify a person to be identified with a visual recognition when the person uses his/her IC card, if such identification is not performed in an unattended terminal operation such as ATM. A misapplication can be prevented efficiently in the case where a security camera that can take a picture of a user's face at close range is not provided.
However, in general, a picture of a face is transferred to an IC card by a printing method, and thus there is a pitfall that the picture of a face is easily changed by forgery.
The thickness of an IC card is generally 0.7 mm and the card is thin. Thus, it is necessary to provide a larger number of integrated circuits having a larger circuit scale or a larger memory capacity within the limited area for sake of high-functionality when the area on which the integrated circuit is provided is limited.